"Well, if I hadn't gone to Antarctica," Kinner says flippantly, "I wouldn't have been eaten by the Thing, and I'd still be alive in my world." There were worse paces to end up, but he would still have rather not been eaten.

He shrugs, smiling weakly. "I'm glad you were able to enjoy it, though. The world needs explorers. I just figure I wasn't a very good one."